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Bee Plant
Scrophularia californica
  
About Bee Plant (Scrophularia californica) 53 Nurseries Carry This Plant Scrophularia californica is a flowering plant in the figwort family, known by the common names Bee Plant, California Bee Plant, and California Figwort. This perennial herb is native to open places of the coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and woodlands in California, where in moist areas it can form large colonies.

The California Bee Plant is a 2-4 ft. perennial with 3 ft. spikes of red flowers. The triangular-ovate toothed light green to blue-green leaves are in pairs opposite each other on a coarse squarish stem. The red-brown to maroon flowers are rounded hollow buds around 1 cm long, with two longer upper lobes, on bloom spikes from February into July.

This species is very prolific nectar producer attractive to small wasps, bees and bumblebees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. It is the larval foodplant for the Chalcedon Checkerspot butterfly, the plant's iridoid glucosides make the larva poisonous and adults unpalatable.

Scrophularia californica grows well in part-shade with low to moderate moisture, in the ground or in large pots.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Size
Size
2 - 4 ft tall
1 - 3 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Slight

Flower Color
Flower Color
Red

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Its nectar attracts bees, hummingbirds, and a species of small wasp. It is a host plant for the larvae of the Common Buckeye butterfly.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 7 confirmed , 6 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 20F° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Adaptable to garden soils. Soil PH: 5.2 - 8.2

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant, Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
4*, 5*, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Slope bottoms, north facing slopes, slightly moister places that receive 11-85 inches of rain per year.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.4" - 71.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 4.20", Coldest Month: 21.1" - 56.4", Hottest Month: 46.0" - 83.5", Humidity: 0.01" - 34.47", Elevation: -40" - 10537"

Alternative Names
Common Names: California Bee Plant, California Figwort


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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